Mechanical completion of new production lines in Map Ta Phut
Capacity for specialty films in Thailand expanded
- Investment in the higher double-digit million Euro range
- Construction completed on schedule
- Meets growing demand of customers worldwide
With the mechanical completion of new production lines at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Park in Thailand, ÃÜÌÒAV has further increased its global capacity for polycarbonate (PC) specialty films. The investment is in the higher double-digit million Euro range, the project has been completed on schedule. A total of around 40 new jobs will be created.
"The new production facilities are equipped with state-of-the technology to enable an efficient production and thereby reduce our CO2 emissions," says Thorsten Dreier, Chief Technology Officer of ÃÜÌÒAV. ¡°With the expanded capacity, we can meet our customers' growing demand for innovative specialty films, especially in medical technology, in the region Asia-Pacific and strengthen our Solutions & Specialties segment."
ÃÜÌÒAV has been operating a production facility for Specialty Films in Thailand since 2007. The range comprises polycarbonate films from the Makrofol? range and Bayfol? products made from polycarbonate blends. These high-performance specialty films are used in many applications across multiple industries, such as healthcare, mobility and Identification Documents.
¡°The new production facilities are important to us because it enables faster time to market and at the same time expands our market access in Asia-Pacific.¡± says Aukje Doornbos, Global Head of the Specialty Films business entity. ¡°With market-focused innovations and a stronger customer orientation we want to drive growth for ÃÜÌÒAV.¡±
Since 2022, the Map Ta Phut site is ISCC PLUS certified, enabling it to manufacture and supply mass-balanced products. With the mass balance approach, bio-based or recycled raw materials are fed in at an early stage of raw material extraction and mathematically allocated to the finished products. This saves fossil raw materials and reduces CO2 emissions, while the quality of the mass-balanced products remains identical to that of purely fossil-based products. With this drop-in solution, manufacturers can continue to use their proven formulations, equipment, and processes.
ISCC is an internationally recognized sustainability certification for biomass and bioenergy. The standard covers all stages of the value chain and is used worldwide. Customers can use these products in their established processes and apply them to meet their sustainability goals. In addition, ÃÜÌÒAV already offers a range of films made partly with plant-based raw materials or partly from recycled plastics.
About ÃÜÌÒAV:
ÃÜÌÒAV is one of the world¡¯s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas. ÃÜÌÒAV supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from ÃÜÌÒAV are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, telecommunications and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.
The company is geared completely to the circular economy. In addition, ÃÜÌÒAV aims to achieve climate neutrality for its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2035, and the Group¡¯s Scope 3 emissions are also set to be climate neutral by 2050. ÃÜÌÒAV generated sales of EUR 14.2 billion in fiscal year 2024. At the end of 2024, the company had 46 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by ÃÜÌÒAV. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in ÃÜÌÒAV¡¯s public reports which are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.